Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross CLEARLY has that problem. Ross isn’t use to speaking publicly, and having every word dissected. So when he does this billionaire usually speaks out of turn, says too much, or doesn’t accurately communicate his desires, vision or goals.

It happens, no matter how hard he tries, which explains why Ross struggles with foot in mouth disease.

This disease becomes dangerous when people don’t allow Ross to clarify himself, or worse, when he does they ignore the corrected statements.

Plenty has been made about Ross’ 2010 claims that the Dolphins should be headed to the Super Bowl (at least he didn’t say they were going to win it), his belief that Chad Henne would be the next Dan Marino (he’s since backed off that type of praise for his fellow Michigan Wolverine).

And most importantly, the world can’t get over Ross’ spoken desires for Tony Sparano to turn his conservative, ball control offensive style into a high-octane passing attack (need a good quarterback for that to happen).

The local and national media, and Dolphins fans can’t and won’t let that last one go. But they should considering Ross has repeatedly explained that he wants the 2011 Dolphins to field a ”good product,” a winning one, and not necessarily a flashy one.

When asked what his expectations for 2011 were earlier this year at the NFL owners meeting Ross simply said: “To be better than we were last year.”

Ross then added on that he definitely NEEDS the Dolphins to win more home games, redeeming themselves from last year’s embarrassing 1-7 home record.

“Last year you guys quoted me. I said something [Super Bowl bound baby!!!!]. I thought we’d be there. [In 2010] I had to read it all over the papers wherever I went,” Ross said. “This year I think we have a great nucleus, We’re looking to improve that.

“People haven’t seen anything because we can’t sign free agents and the draft hasn’t occurred [it has since],” Ross said back in March. “I think you’ll have a better idea, as I will, and even Jeff [Ireland], who we’ll be able to attract, and who we end up with.”

Ross then promised that the team will add competition for Henne, whom he stopped short of endorsing.

In his three years as an NFL owner Ross said he’s learning the process of building a winning franchise is “much more sophisticated” than he assumed.

“There’s so much more that goes into it than you’d expect,” said Ross, who admitted that he’s been amazed by his backstage view, and blow-by-blow recap of the post game breakdowns.

“During the game, a fan might say, ‘Hey a guy ran a wrong route.’ But there’s a lot more to it. As a fan, I didn’t know that. I talk to [Sparano or Ireland] afterward and say, “oh really, I didn’t know that.’

Ross paid $1.1 billion for that inside view, those explanations, but that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied with the type of team the Miami Dolphins have put on the field the past two seasons. Both 7-9 seasons featured collapses in the final month of the season and that’s something Ross likely won’t tolerate again.

“The fans want to see something exciting, and they want to win. It’s that simple. And [they want to] have a lot of fun doing it. And that’s what we have to focus on doing – winning. And [the business side has to make sure] they have a lot of fun when they come to the game, and basically win at home.”

History says Ross will be aggressive when free agency starts because the Dolphins have spent more than any other franchise re-signing their own, and luring high profile, big ticket free agents the past three offseasons.

That’s part of the motivation behind Ross giving Sparano and Ireland three-year extensions. His goal was to portray stability to the team’s desired free agent targets.

“If not you go and sign old player and all big names and hope they have one year left,” Ross said. “I think we have a very young squad. One of the youngest in the league. We’re building it from the ground up. And I think the whole idea when I first bought the team is we want to be consistent – playing in the playoffs year in and year out where people can expect a good, exciting product on the field.”

I have the occasional privilege of talking to Mr. Ross and his staff, therefore I feel it’s my duty as YOUR representative to provide clarity when it is needed. Too often we in the media take advantages of his foot in mouth missteps, and as a result the Dolphins fan base gets mislead.

My hope is that bringing you Ross’ real desires for 2011 will provide SOME clarity. His desire isn’t to build a sexy offense, or bringing the spread to the NFL. Ross simply wants to build a competitive team that features an offense which scores more touchdowns in the red zone, and wins more games than they lose, especially at home.

This Team is complete joke, The Owner tried to replace the HC before firing him , The GM wooing the replacement and ditching his right hand man, Carl Petersen playing the “hype man”, Sparano giving fist pumps to field goals, the QB has less emotion than the terminator,both running backs had zero 100 yd games the entire year, Marshall not being utilized the right way, an offensive line that had a higher turnover rate than Mcdonalds, a Cornerback that couldn’t catch a Cold, no depth a tight end, a kicker that kicked so many field goals he burnt himself out, a backup qb that lasted one play, a special teams unit that was very “special” , a first round draft pick that lasted one game, and a Senior Vice president that walked out on the team and is still getting paid while given information to other teams, and we wonder why no coaches want to be here?????

you forgot the part where the fans boo the team before they take the field that let to all this. it starts with the fans who are the worst fans in sports. miami is a joke. chicago cub fans have more class then you guys. you’re the reason why miami was 2 and 6 at home. not the coaching staff, not the players it is losers like you. little info for you son miami has the best coaching staff in the game and fools like you want to run them off.

The games are ideal but I took my family to training camp last year and it was a blast. I’m gonna go back this year. Hopefully they get this sheet worked out. But that would be with fam again. We do need to plan a road trip to a game though. Fatass is down there, a bunch of guys are.

I’m a casual fan of hockey but like when the lightning are on track. What’s fairly interesting this year is their coach Guy Boucher (great name) with a prominent scar he has on his face and apparently even his hometown and kids don’t know how he got it, he won’t tell

Like I said I’m a casual fan but really got into the Stanley Cup again this year, I’m not passionate like you Yanks. I love how TB was down 1-3 and rattled off 7 in a row. Just hope they didn’t get too much rest. Regardless bro, and I mean it, I’m proud of what this team’s done with absolutely no expectations at the season’s opener

Why did I think Pennington was a team captain last year? I guess my feeble brain took the Henne snub and added Pennington as captain from the previous season.
If Chad Henne isn’t the captain along with Jake Long next season, he’s done before he even steps onto the field in the first game. That goes for whomever is the starting QB.

It looks like I missed but if you are still checking I want to chime in on the situation with your son at school. There was a case here in New Haven CT where a girl claimed a group of other girls took money from her. The school then performed a strip search of the other girls. Needless to say lawsuits followed and the board of ed. paid out big money on the case. While your case is not quite the same there is some similarity in that there is a request for an invasive search/procedure to rule out suspected criminal activity. The school should be very careful in how they handle the request as they it may open the door to a civil lawsuit. If I were counsel to the board of ed. I would have them rethink that policy.

Yeah Payaso,
I hit 5-10 games, a few with the buds and a few with the kids each season. I love our young team, don’t get me wrong, the yanks are stacked. I think the farm system is loaded much like the Braves for a decade and a half but we can’t keep them but we seem to keep replacing them

Sorry to post and run but it has been a long day. I saw Mike E’s question about his son when I was trying to catch up on what I missed on the blog today. Sorry I missed him. Hopefully I won’t be as busy tomorrow. Good night and peace to the mob.

Check this sheet out! My wife told me that yesterday in school, my older son Brian, who’s 16 fell asleep in class in the morning, when the teacher told the kids to study for a few minutes before they got the test she was going to give them.

So the teacher sees him sleeping, and wakes up on his own, and he takes the test, and then after class, the teacher tells him she has to report to the nurse that he fell asleep in class, and he will have to be tested for drugs, and that we have to pay $50 for the test. Does your school system do anything like that?
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Ohhhhhh no she DIH-INT! Mike, go to the school on Monday and raise holy hell. A kid falling asleep in class is as American as apple pie. In fact, growing up every spring my allergies would get horrible, and I was exhausted and fighting/falling asleep intermittently on a regular basis. My allergies and the medication both exhausted me. Seriously homey, that is BS. I would be up in arms yelling at the principal as if he were Henne throwing a 4th Q TD while 10 yards from a TD and down by 6… your leverage could at the least be threatening a civil suit of harassment, public humiliation, and defamation of character. Falling asleep in class is a demand for a DRUG test now??? Friggin’ A! What if he had narcolepsy, or was up all night worrying about who he’d ask to prom? Should be a parental issue/reporting to parents, not threats like those. I would be quite angry if it was my boy.

^
I’ve been working in various capacities with kids of all ages, having recently been in some “bad” schools – and I’ve never heard of anything like that.

It does seem odd, but it also doesn’t seem like something that would be done out of the blue. Yes there is the 1:1,000,000 that makes the news doing some outlandish thing that causes them to lose their job…..but the other 999,999 are cognizant of the world we live in and not doing anything that would draw the ire of parents/administration/lawyers, etc. unless 100% justified.
Which makes me feel that for that situation to have happened there’s a good chance there was serious problems in that school and there was some sort of guidelines/code set up that someone signed off on…..or there was more to it than a kid “falling asleep”.

That is simply my initial thoughts (since it was posted up here), I obviously don’t know what happened…..so if it was one of those situations where the child in question was treated unfairly and that happened without substantial reason – then sorry for that and hope that it is resolved in a matter that pleases you. So sorry if I’m off-base, but with my experiences I felt compelled to write a reaction from “the other side”.
I guess I just have a hard time with anything that is “when I was in school”…..because if you haven’t been in high schools the past decade you would probably be shocked by the students/environment and what Teachers currently have to deal with. I have seen classes that meet the “when I was in school” definition with very good teachers/students, but I’ve also witnessed a generation that shows little or no respect for school and their teachers, that want things immediately and in the easiest way possible, and a lack of accountability from most all involved. It’s rather saddening…..and unfortunately does create cynicism.

Did anyone bother to ask Ross why he is employing Broward County’s lobbyist to influence state legislators into changing state law so that The Broward tax payers can fund the roof on his stadium. You know, the privately owned stadium in Miami Gardens, Miami-Dade County. Did anyone ask him if he would guarantee Broward County a certain return on their investment? Maybe Mr. Ross would like to make Broward County a stockholder in the Dolphins? Has anyone asked him if he would consider buying 100% of any tax-free bonds Broward might issue?

My point is, this was an apologist’s article created to polish a very tarnished image. It was the equivalent to tapioca! The guy is a greedy billionaire feeding on those around him like a vampire!

Hate to say it, but I don’t believe Ross can attract a top flight coach like Dungy or Cowher, with the way he runs this franchise….it’s all glitz and glamour, with little to do with winning football games…..now look at the opposite franchises….the Packers…or the Steelers….hard nosed, focused on putting a winning football team on the field, not a Broadway production…..great drafts, smart coaches…..able to actually coach a QB to run a 2 minute offense and have their ST actually influence a game.

We’ve got young talent, but will it even matter if all these things, along with a top notch QB, don’t materialize???

What a shame…..last thing to happen is for Ireland to take his skills to a FOOTBALL team!!! And leave SoBe behind…

OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More